


i'd say that it's hip if it wasn't so ironic

by slashmania



Series: Practically Perfect [2]
Category: Inception (2010), Mary Poppins (1964)
Genre: Drabble Collection, M/M, Mary Poppins/ Inception AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-07-03 05:05:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15811980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slashmania/pseuds/slashmania
Summary: Arthur and Eames get chased by their mark's guards and end up hiding in a hipster clothing store's dressing room. Eames has a chat with Arthur's reflection.





	i'd say that it's hip if it wasn't so ironic

**Author's Note:**

> I thought this was an interesting idea, so I thought I'd try it out. I never thought I'd write a drabble about one of my completed fics, so go me?
> 
> and yeah the title sucks, it's too late for me to try and be clever.

(528)

Ask Arthur anything but how they managed to get into a more dangerous situation _outside_ of the extraction they’d successfully performed.

The job itself had gone according to plan. Arthur did the build and held the first level together while Eames took care of the second and searched for the secrets. They found everything they needed, got out of the space they’d arranged to do the extraction and made absolutely certain that their mark was okay before they left.

And predictably ran into the mark’s guards. Arthur and Eames had run in the opposite direction.

Running away with Eames was becoming a theme to their working relationship.

“Got any good ideas for an escape, darling?”

They were holding hands and running down the blissfully empty street, each carrying something in their unoccupied hands. Arthur’s magic umbrella wasn’t going to appear in the hand which held the PASIV. Arthur also wasn’t keen on letting go of Eames’s hand to facilitate the appearance of said magic umbrella.

He rationalized that there must be somewhere closer than the clouds where they could hide. He rationalized that it would be so much easier to neutralize the men following after them, and then get away!

He could admit to himself that he didn’t want to let go of Eames’s hand because he liked it. He never got tired of being close to Eames.

Arthur then spotted a business that had closed for the day. The lack of employees or customers made it all the more attractive since the goons who had yet to catch up to them were most definitely armed. Arthur didn’t want innocent people to get hurt. He didn’t really want _anyone_ to get hurt.

He tugged on Eames’s hand and led him around to the back of the store. Eames followed Arthur without questioning him. Arthur handed the PASIV off to Eames so he could examine the door. Definitely locked- he could pull his gun and shoot out the lock, he could kick it down.

There were just as many ways he could use the Poppins gift to accomplish his task.

He looked at the door knob, took a short breath, then focused. He could give some complicated explanation about focusing on the material of the knob, envisioning the way the lock was put together, but Poppins magic didn’t have to be so technical. His grandmother would only have to clear her throat expectantly and ask the door to hurry up and open.

Arthur snapped his fingers. The lock audibly clicked and the door obligingly swung open for the point man.

They’d gotten to that stage in their working and personal (soppy romantic) relationship where Arthur didn’t even worry over what Eames might think of the latest bit of Poppins magic Arthur performed. Eames nodded and followed Arthur through the open door.

The door closed behind them, leaving them in the daytime half-darkness of a building with too few windows and no lights on. Arthur snapped his fingers again and the lights came on- eco friendly light bulbs in antique fixtures displayed the wares.

The racks were full of ironic clothing.

 “A hipster clothing store!” Eames said.

Arthur sighed. “Exactly.”

* * *

 

(491)

Even though they had only come in to hide, Eames was seriously considering looking at a coat hanging from the clothes rack nearest to them.

Arthur shook his head and tried to encourage Eames to follow after him; Eames held onto the PASIV, fingers itching to reach for the gun he’d had to hide while they were running on the public streets. He followed Arthur through another door and found that they were in a decent sized dressing room. There were stalls, hooks to hang clothing from, an entire wheeled rack for items that would be returned by employees, and mirrors glinting from each enclosed space.

Arthur was shoving Eames into one, encouraging him to place the PASIV on one of the little shelves built into the stall.

When he pulled his gun, Eames did the same.

“I’m going to ask that you stay in here with the PASIV.”

Eames snorted, “It doesn’t need a sitter, Arthur. We can face those men better as a team, you know that!”

Arthur gave Eames another nudge, insistent and firm. “We aren’t going to argue about what manly dream criminals we are. I have a strategy for this type of situation, and its best if I keep you in one place where my reflection can see you.”

And after giving Eames that tidbit of information coupled with a quick kiss, Arthur stepped out of Eames’s stall and closed the door. Another snap of the point man’s fingers ensured that tiny lock turned, locking Eames’s door.

Not that it would stop anyone from breaking the door down if they wanted to.

Eames leaned against the wall and puzzled over Arthur’s last words.

Curious, Eames looked at the mirror on the wall of his stall. It was closest to where he’d hang his clothing if he was an actual customer trying on hipster clothing. That was when he noticed that Arthur’s reflection had indeed stayed behind.

Arthur’s reflection was perfect, but still jarring because there was no point man next to Eames.

Arthur had explained before that it “had a mind of its own but mostly mirrors what I’m doing.” Mostly being the keyword.

Eames would have said something to the reflection, but that was the moment the mark’s guards found their way into the hipster clothing store.

The reflection of Arthur winked at Eames. The reflection remained where it was, making good on Arthur’s wish for it to keep an eye on Eames.

“You know,” Eames said patiently, “you don’t have to keep an eye on me. I can handle myself.”

And then the reflection spoke to him.

“But who would I have to talk to while Arthur scares the guards away by walking past the other mirrors without casting a reflection?”

 _Bad idea_ , Eames thought.

“Can you distract some of them for us?”

“I bet you that one of them will try and shoot at me.”

Eames smirked and unlocked the door. “I accept.”


End file.
